jökulhlaup
jö·kul·hlaup
(yŭ′kəl-hloup′, -hlōp′, -hlo͞op′, yō′-; yœ′kül-hlœp′)n. pl. jö·kul·hlaups
The sudden, catastrophic release of meltwater from beneath or behind a glacier.
[Icelandic : jökull, glacier (from Old Norse jǫkull, icicle, ice; akin to Old English gicel, icicle) + hlaup, run, sudden rise of a river, flood (from Old Norse, leap, from hlaupa, to leap; akin to Old English hlēapan).]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.